The Only Exception
by Elle Seren
Summary: Two-shot showing how putting Malik into the same situation twice with two very different people can have interesting results. First chapter is theifshipping, second is angstshipping. Funny how things can start the same, go so differently and end the same
1. Safe

**A/N: So this concept hit me at like midnight last night...and had me up till three in the morning planning it out! I really need to commit to one story at a time but I just can't seem to. Anyways most of my stuff is pre-written and uploaded on a loose schedule anyways. As for this story! It will be two chapters (maybe four...depending on whether or not people like it) depicting Malik being thrust into the same situation twice –with two very different people. The first chapter will be thiefshipping and the second (which is of course unrelated to the first except for the similar plot line –Malik is not a two timer!) will be angstshipping. Funny how the same situation can start the same, go so differently and then end so similarly ;) **

***You should know: First chapter contains lots of swearing. You have been WARNED!**

***Note: Centered italicized words are lyrics. **_**[Text] **_**Is Ryou mind speaking and **_**Text **_**is Bakura replying but I'm positive you could have figured that out on your own.**

**Disclaimer: Not Mine! Nor is the beginning or end lyrics from "The Only Exception" by Paramour or the middle lyrics from "Safe" by Britt Nicole. Both excellent songs though, I suggest you listen to them!**

The Only Exception Ch 1: Safe

_And that was the day that I promised_

_I'd never sing of love_

_If it does not exist_

...

A rapid tapping on the window caught Bakura's attention, the heavy duty headphones formerly blaring in his ears sliding down to his neck. Growling with irritation at the interruption he looked out and saw the only person stupid enough to climb _his_ roof in the middle of the day.

Malik was grinning triumphantly, seeing that he caught his attention as he clung in a crouching position to the roof. Bakura snorted; tempted to leave him there to wait pathetically but about five seconds of staring at his friend with his white-blond hair blowing in the wind and that lazy smile on his golden brown skin swayed his opinion.

_Damn it,_ Bakura thought, still glaring at the other boy perched precariously outside his window but shoved back his chair anyways, whipping the headphones carelessly onto the desk so that he could walk over to the window stormily.

Releasing the catch with a flick of his hand, Malik fell tumbling in though Bakura was more interested in the sirens wailing away outside on the street with police men running around looking confused. At least he had a good excuse for letting in the Egyptian now.

Said Egyptian was lying on the floor cracking up as though he'd played some sort of hilarious joke. Somehow Bakura would not have been surprised if those police men were looking for him.

He glared down at the boy still caught in a fit of hysterics, clutching his own partially bare stomach as he gasped for air but Bakura couldn't resist a small smirk of his own. The befuddled cops obviously had no idea where Malik had disappeared to so quickly.

He almost felt a little proud for a moment, being the one who taught Malik how to climb so well in case he ever needed to escape but he shook off the ludicrous emotion.

Malik watched cheerfully from the floor as Bakura glared at him once more with those ruby tinted eyes before crossing the room to his bed, dropping down so his back was to the wall, and draping an arm over his raised knee in his usual screw-the-world fashion.

Did this bother Malik? No, what bothered him was that when the white haired boy was moody it also meant he was completely sexy and unapproachable –which was always.

Worse was that he did nothing to cover up the fact that he was undeniably attractive with his blue shirt open over his pale muscled chest and a somehow alluring scowl was written across his face from his tight pressed lips to his brooding eyes.

Of course with all his haughty attitudes and gorgeous body he was _still_ untouchable.

"Jealous that I was out having all the fun?" Malik taunted, and Bakura was distracted by the way he was sprawled on the floor, leather pants hugging his hips and lavender shirt riding up to reveal a tanned stomach tight with muscles.

Damn it, he was doing it again. Staring...at Malik. Being gay implied feminineness, which Bakura was happy to leave to Ryou thank-you-very-much. Bakura was many things but he was _not _feminine. It wasn't that he didn't already know he liked males, he had figured that out long ago but what he didn't want was to actually be attracted to Malik.

Unlike hitting on some random guy in the bar, doing any of the things he wanted to do to Malik wouldn't cause a one night stand –it would cause a relationship which would be a very stupid idea as far as Bakura was concerned since he didn't believe in love.

If he _did _believe in love and all that fluffy shit that came with it though...several fantasies leapt to his mind as he glared at his friend still lying on his bedroom floor. Why in the hell did he have to choose _his_ window to run from the cops? It made not jumping him right now a lot harder.

_[That's just disturbing.]_

Bakura growled slightly with annoyance as Ryou made his goodie-two-shoes presence known in his mind.

_Like you've never pictured him that way,_ he thought back with a small smirk at the tantalizing images dancing behind his eyelids.

Malik sighed, letting his head fall back as he recognized that Bakura was clearly not paying attention to him. When he got that vacant expression on his face it usually meant he was having a conversation with his former partner.

Malik would never admit it but he was a little jealous of Ryou. He was the only person that Bakura couldn't block out no matter how much he wanted to. If he only knew what they were actually talking about...

_[As a matter of fact I haven't. You're sick, you know that?] _Ryou shot back and Bakura was surprised at his partner's vehemence. He was usually so docile.

_If you don't like it get the fuck out of my head_, he snapped.

_[It's hard to ignore it when you're thinking about THAT sort of thing.] _

_I knew you thought my fantasies were hot. _

_[That's not what I meant and you know it! Just don't mess things up with him.] _

_What the hell is that supposed to mean? _

_[He's your friend, the only one you have at that. Don't treat him like one of your bar sluts.] _Bakura remained silent, refusing to admit Ryou was right. Of course he had just been thinking something vaguely along the same lines.

He didn't want to start anything with Malik because he could never be in a relationship and it seemed wrong to use his friend that way just to satisfy his lust.

_[Stop being so stubborn, it's more than lust. You like him, there's nothing wrong with him.] _

_I told you to get the fuck out of my head! _This time there was a dangerous barb to his mental voice, and Ryou at least knew when to back off.

Bakura had always had a firm belief that love did not and could not exist; it just ended up making people more miserable when they realized what a lie it was. Liking Malik had dangerous connotations to 'that feeling' and he refused to acknowledge even the slight possibility.

Seeing that Bakura was only getting moodier by the second Malik tried one of the tactics that usually could cheer up his friend: law breaking.

"Don't you at least want to know why the coppers were after me?" He asked and Bakura barely took time to scowl at him.

"No," He grunted and Malik frowned. He must be really depressed about something if he didn't even feel like insulting him. It was one of Bakura's favourite hobbies and the reason only someone like Malik could actually get along with him.

Not that Bakura would ever tell him _why_ he was put out about something. That would make him seem soft which the great thief lord would never allow. Frustrated with how untouchable he was when all Malik wanted to was touch him anywhere he'd allow, he pouted aloud from his position on the floor: "You're so cold hearted."

Internally Bakura winced at the insult then realized how stupid that was. Being cold hearted always had been and always would be a good thing because he'd never fall for the stupid mirage known as love. Why did it suddenly not seem like such a good thing with Malik?

Great, now he was doubting his own mind.

_Thanks a lot Ryou,_ he grumbled internally then said, "I can't be cold hearted if I don't have a heart." Malik merely rolled his eyes. At least Bakura was clearly still capable of being a stubborn idiot.

"You need a heart to live," He pointed out and Bakura just snorted disbelievingly at the boy still sprawled lazily on his floor.

"That's what my other organs are for. Hearts are only good for love and since I don't believe in that bullshit I obviously don't need one," He said harshly and Malik frowned. If this conversation kept going on its downward spiral it would definitely come back to depress him later.

He should have known better to bring up hearts or anything related to love with Bakura. He always got so defensive on the subject. This was not the way today was supposed to go! Okay, quick, he needed a way to cheer up this dark conversation...he grinned slightly as an idea hit him.

Bakura's glare sharpened, recognize the mischievous look on his face as he got to his knees at last after his quick escape through his friend's window from the 'coppers'.

"I'll just have to test whether you have a heart or not then," Marik challenged gleefully, and Bakura pulled up his other knee to create a barricade between them.

"Don't you dare," He hissed threateningly as Malik started to crouch dramatically like a tiger, eyes never straying from the harsh ruby gaze up on the bed. Bakura started to raise a hand but was distracted when Malik let out a small growl, licking his lips for effect and was that a hint of lust on Bakura's face?

Well he did look kind of sexy crouched on the floor about to spring like that...

Malik grinned as he noticed the distraction on his friend's face and immediately took the opportunity to launch himself through the air towards him, barrelling into him with all his weight on his chest. Bakura was clearly caught by surprise, not having expected him to actually jump at him or else he never would have let the Egyptian pin him like that.

Despite the fact that Malik was bigger and taller then Bakura, the others overpowering aura of ferocity made him seem much more powerful most of the time. It was all part of his untouchable nature but Malik was certainly touching him now as he shifted his weight to straddle the smaller boy's waist.

Bakura put up a small scrap despite his shock but Malik managed to grab his upper arms, pinning him to the bed firmly with a wicked grin on his face. Okay it would be a lie to say he didn't find their position incredibly hot but it was also funny to see Bakura so outraged that he'd been taken advantage of.

On his end Bakura could hardly ignored the way that Malik was straddling his waist and pressed so completely against him in many very _bad_ places. It made concentrating on fighting back a lot harder and he found his upper body quickly pinned as well by the slightly larger boy so that he could only move from his elbows down.

Feeling Malik's body tightly against him he knew there was going to be a seriously obvious problem if he didn't remove himself from his general physical vicinity very soon.

"What the fuck are you doing? Get off of me damn it!" He snarled, baring his teeth as he began to struggle in earnest but it was too late, Malik had at least ten pounds and a couple inches on him so moving him forcefully was going to be a challenge.

"Nuh-uh, I'm checking for a heart remember?" Malik teased playfully, pushing him against the bed more firmly and Bakura glared, forcing his muscles to stay rigid instead of relaxing to enjoy his position. Actually he'd rather be on top but he could make this work if –Ra, damn it, these thoughts were getting extremely distracting!

"Get. Off." He said in a low dangerous tone, his best blood curdling expression twisting his pale face, white hair sticking up wildly around his face and on the bed. Most people would have either wet them self or ran for it long ago but the look had virtually no effect on Malik except to encourage him.

"Never," He said valiantly and Bakura started to wriggle some more, continuing to glare murderously and Malik shifted his weight, putting pressure on a very uncomfortable area as he grinned wickedly. Bakura felt everything inside him tense for more reasons than one.

"Don't you fucking da" –

"Then stop moving!" Malik exclaimed impatiently, releasing one of Bakura's arms now that he had him pinned even more effectively to push back the already open shirt that had bunched up over his chest in the struggle.

"If you feel the need to rape someone, Ryou's down the hall in his room," Bakura suggested and Malik laughed. He had a great laugh because his favourite jokes were usually at someone else's expense, which matched Bakura's humour perfectly...but that was part of being friends.

He was not attracted to him. He was not!

"Really, he'd be much easier than" –

"Shut up," Malik grunted, stretching across Bakura a little more to press his hand to the centre of his bare chest firmly. The touch was electrocuting and Bakura prayed to Ra if he hadn't been fully forsaken yet that Malik wouldn't see the goose bumps all over his arms.

"Aha! You do have a heart!" He merely exclaimed triumphantly when he felt the thumping beneath his hand.

"Idiot, that's not even where my heart is," Bakura growled, whipping his free arm up to grab Malik's tan hand in his ghostly grip, yanking it over to the bottom of his left pectoral. Ra why did that have to feel so _good?_

Feeling the powerful beating of Bakura's heart beneath his palm Malik was lost in the sensation for a moment then remembered their argument. Right, he didn't want this to be too...what, suggestive? Please, he'd already crossed half the friendship lines already. Not that Bakura would know the difference since Malik was his only good friend.

"Since you have a heart you must have at least a little love for someone," He teased instead and Bakura scrunched up his face irritably at the mere idea.

He opened his mouth to tell him to screw off again but at that moment when he released Malik's hand and shifted beneath him Malik's hand slipped just a little bit upward, warm fingers sliding against the most sensitive part of Bakura's chest, making him gasp aloud.

Malik snickered slightly at the reaction though he didn't mind the thought of Bakura gasping beneath him at all. Bakura's glare intensified, immediately regretting gasping like a little girl beneath his oppressor despite the persuasive touch. That part of him was _really_ going to become a problem very soon if this kept up.

Gritting his teeth he said nastily, "For someone trying to rape me you shouldn't be so concerned with _love._" He said love like a dirty word; Malik noticed then became concerned with the more important part of that sentence. Rape?

"What are you talking about? Why would I try to rape _you?_" He responded and hoped it came out sounding more like an insult then how incredulous he actually was at the concept. Raping Bakura was almost laughable.

Sure he could almost picture someone taking advantage of Ryou but one glare from Bakura would have even a real rapist running for his life. Bakura stared at the person pinning him down for a moment, wondering how he could possibly be _that _oblivious.

Even if Malik didn't like him or lust for him or whatever the hell it was between them how could he not feel anything in this position when Bakura was so completely aware? A hollow aching coming from the spot beneath Malik's hand snapped him out of these thoughts.

Stupid 'love', he knew better then to let himself fall for this. He wasn't _in love_ with Malik, he was just having a little lust problem over him...even though he was his friend...and an extremely attractive boy...and a boy who was his friend that he liked hanging out with alone even when he wasn't thinking about crude sexual things they could be doing together...the only boy who he had ever felt that way towards since he firmly believed in lust and ok _maybe_ friendship but definitely not love...

Fuck.

These useless nonsense emotions were totally messing with his head. Fine, time to do what he did best: screw the rules and the consequences. He might as well have some fun on the path to hell anyways. If he was going down, he was taking Malik along for the joy ride, and he could kill two birds with one stone this way.

"Yes Malik, rape," He explained dryly, "Where you jump someone's bones without their consent?" Malik blinked once surprised to see Bakura's sarcasm starting to resurface. Up until now his moodiness had been in full swing but sarcasm usually meant he was happy...or as happy as Bakura got anyways.

What was he playing at?

Sighing and clucking his tongue at Malik's confused expression Bakura couldn't resist a foreboding smirk.

"It usually goes something like this," He explained, flashing canines in a taunting grin before grabbing Malik by his leather clad hips and grinding against him. Dear Ra, who decided to make that feel so fucking good?

Malik gasped aloud at the extremely invasive touch, scrambling backwards off of his friend until his back collided with the headboard of the bed. He was even blushing Bakura couldn't help thinking gleefully as he pulled himself up into a half sitting position. It felt good to move again but not nearly as good as the almost painful pleasure he had just inflicted on both of them.

"As cute as you look when you blush I'm pretty sure I won that argument," He taunted, still smirking darkly as Malik swallowed, still trying to gather his wits inside his spinning head.

It was like fireworks had just exploded right in his face, beautiful, but still shocking. He shook his head quickly to clear the pink flush and dazed expression written across his tan face.

"No you didn't," Malik replied and Bakura growled slightly with irritation.

"Yes I did," He insisted childishly though it was more of a scowl then a pout that twisted his lips together in a frustrated line. Malik thought he actually looked pretty cute...wait had he called _Malik_ cute when he blushed? Sure it was sarcastic but Bakura never said anything for no reason.

"The argument was never about getting me off of you, it was whether or not you were heartless and since I proved you weren't you can't be heartless," He replied just as stubbornly as he sat up a little more properly, raking a hand through his messy blond layers that fell in lavender eyes.

Bakura refused to give in to his logic, mostly because it rose too many thoughts about how he could just sit there staring at Malik's adorably flustered face all day without feeling the need to suddenly jump him again.

And that _didn't_ sound like lust which was definitely a problem.

"Because being cold hearted is _so _much better than being heartless," He said instead with a roll of his eyes.

Malik felt the words sting him and immediately replied, "It is because at least if you have a heart it means you can fall in love. If you didn't you actually couldn't." So maybe he was self-projecting his own desires on Bakura, namely that Bakura would fall in love with _him_ but still, to never love seemed to be a cruel fate no matter how cheesy it sounded.

Bakura was bothered by his reasoning because it managed to upset his cold heartedly stubborn view on love. Was it possible he was capable of falling in love or even had fallen in love simply because he did in fact have a heart?

He pushed the thought away viciously, reminding himself yet again not to fall into that trap. It never had and never would exist. It was just a pretty picture painted with lies for fools to stare at dreamily.

"I don't believe in love and I can't fall into something nonexistent," He snapped harshly, glaring daggers at Malik who refused to shrink back despite the uncharacteristic depression rearing its ugly head in the back of his mind.

After all, Bakura was practically screaming 'I do not love you! Get over it!' Which he probably would if he knew how pathetic Malik was being internally right now. Some of the hopeless hope inside his miserable self that had always held on despite many similar 'conversations' they had had on the subject made him say quietly while avoiding that cold gaze:

"Maybe you're just narrow minded and love does exist. That means even if you didn't mean to or want to you could still fall in love anyways."

That's certainly how it had been for him. He had never _meant _to fall for stupid cold hearted stubborn Bakura, and he never would have if he was so damn...he didn't even know what. He had no idea what attracted him so much to the fierce whitette.

There were a million little things together that made him so worth it. Bakura growled, whipping his head back and forth to clear the useless thoughts banging around his head that made heat rise in his cheeks.

Thinking about love was such a waste of time; he needed to end this argument before he did something idiotic like confess to some nonexistent emotion.

_I'm strong enough, I've always told myself  
I never want to need somebody else  
But I've already fallen from that hill,  
So I'm droppin that guard here's your chance at my heart_

Marik stared for a moment dazed by the beautiful once or twice in a life time experience of seeing the proud Bakura actually _blush._ He looked just like an angel –albeit an angel with a cold red glare that was still focused on him but it didn't matter, he was used to Bakura's glares.

He was still transfixed with the deep red color that painted his pale cheeks obviously though it was quickly fading away. Only when he finally had to blink did he realize too late that he was openly going gaa-gaa over his friend's blush while staring him right in the face.

Maybe now would call for some teasing to smooth the situation over...he opened his mouth again but Bakura beat him to it with a sneer that promised hurtful words to follow.

"You've gone soft. Do you really have nothing better to think about then this sappy crap?" He was aware of how hurtful his words were especially from Malik's small wince though his face merely became blank, not showing any real hurt he must be feeling.

It was cruel but necessary, Bakura had already crossed to far over to the other side, it would be foolish to tempt fate anymore. Why did Malik have to chose today of all days to suddenly become a romantic? It was just making him more miserable and beyond that absolutely frustrated.

It was only the afternoon but he seriously needed a drink.

Malik glared at him behind hooded eyes, hating him for making this all so much harder. He _was _cold hearted...and the scariest part was that some of Malik liked him that way. Why did he fall for someone so damn stubborn?

This was so stupid but he'd promised himself he'd go through with it. Now or never he kept telling himself and if never wasn't such a long time it would be tempting to take that way out especially considering the hell and scorn Bakura was going to heap on him for it.

"Fine, I'll wrap up my sappiness you pompous _ass_," He growled back and the blonde's tone had him looking up with some curiosity on his pale white face. On one hand he sounded legitimately pissed off if not hurt but he also sounded like he still had something to say.

"This is what I was running from the police for," He said in a slightly pouting voice as he pulled from his large pocket a rectangular package, tossing it with perfect aim into Bakura's lap.

Bakura tried not to wince at the clearly aimed shot, refusing to show his reaction as he picked it up, turning it over in long pale fingers warily. Despite himself he wanted to know what Malik could possibly have that would have the police chasing after him all morning for.

"I stole it, it reminded me of you," Malik said nonchalantly remembering his mad escape from the store after setting off half the alarms with his stolen item. Not long later the police were hot on his trail, the reason he had originally meant to buy it with money but the chase was a million times more exhilarating.

Since this was likely to blow up in his face with a heavy second helping of scorn for even _thinking_ about being so stupid he figured he might as well have some fun before it crashed and burned to an ungraceful ending.

Now looking at it Bakura could help feeling a little smug, no he wasn't touched by the motion or anything, just _smug_ because he had taught Malik all the finer points of five fingering things. When he actually saw what it was though he was completely lost.

"I remind you of 'semi-sweet dark chocolate?'" He read aloud dryly, raising an eyebrow at Malik who was still pouting, looking away from him.

"Well you're not sweet but you're not a total bastard all the time," He muttered, flashing a sharp glance in Bakura's direction before looking away again.

"And," He added hesitantly, tossing him a few more glances a little nervous now as Bakura's gaze drilled into him unflinchingly, "Dark chocolate is bitter but I know a few people who have a taste for it."

Oh Ra, that was the cheesiest thing he had ever said in his entire life. Why him? _Why _had he done this to himself? Bakura was still staring, lips slightly parted, smooth white skin of his brow furrowed beneath his messy white bangs.

About ten seconds of staring into his dark red eyes that were still deep with concentration and Malik couldn't take it anymore, that stare was seriously unnerving! If he knew taking Bakura by surprise would give him a stroke he wouldn't have done something so strange.

"Don't hurt yourself over thinking it," He finally snapped, making Bakura blink, losing his train of thoughts. He couldn't figure out what about Malik's words was metaphorical and what applied to the two of them romantically or just friendly or...whatever.

He shot him a glare but when Malik's eyes flickered to the chocolate still in his hands he tightened his grip on it, fingers making white bands across the dark wrappings as he hoarded it on his side of the bed in a possessive gesture.

He fully intended to keep the gift and eat it all himself with great enjoyment, the only sign of thanks he'd ever bear to give.

"I'm not dark so I can't be dark chocolate," He said gruffly but it lacked the harsh edge it would need to be truly cutting and Malik merely rolled his eyes, silently relieved. That could have gone a lot, _a lot_ worse. It wasn't his impossible fantasy of Bakura suddenly confessing love but he wasn't trying to strangle him either at least.

"There's no such thing as semi-sweet white chocolate," He pointed out and Bakura smirked devilishly, angling his chin upward proudly so that his ruby tinted eyes seemed to flash at Malik in an extremely attractive fashion.

"Evidently there is," He said in a smug voice and Malik wondered if stroking Bakura's ego had been smart after all as he clearly liked the concept of being one of a kind. He decided to knock his pride down a couple steps as he scoffed with disbelief, saying: "You're obviously not made of chocolate."

Wrong choice of words.

Bakura's temper was like a straight line, you didn't cross it but occasionally somewhere before the line was a landmine that you definitely did _not _want to disturb.

"If you can believe in something you can't prove exists like love then how can you know I'm not made of chocolate?" Bakura snapped and the words which might not have seemed cruel except for their obvious intent to harm cut into him like a knife.

It seemed stupid to get so offended over something like chocolate but Bakura didn't like to be insulted, even if it was just to say he wasn't as unique as he liked to think. Because in truth Bakura really _was _one of a kind and Malik liked him that way.

"I know love exists though, I've felt it and that's part of the five senses," Malik mumbled, avoiding his painfully sharp gaze and Bakura felt an irritable lurch in that place where his heart supposedly was. Malik had felt that to.

Obviously he was admitting that he was or had been at some point in love with someone and the first conclusion Bakura jumped to was hopefully wondering if it might be him. That thought shook him even more than Malik's small confession.

He shouldn't be wanting Malik to be in love with him, that was just cruel knowing that he could never love him back. And he _could not _return such 'feelings' because he was incapable of love. In his world '_love_' did not exist. Right?

That was right. He needed to keep his guard up against this. Just because Malik _thought_ he was or had been in love didn't mean he actually was and it didn't mean it had been with Bakura.

His eyes flashed angrily at the thought despite himself, wondering who Malik could possibly think he was in love with _other_ then him but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak the words got stuck, instead looking at the way Malik's eyes narrowed, a hostile expression abruptly taking over his face.

It was unnerving; it was usually _him _who was hostile –never the other way around unless he really pissed the other off. It was like Malik could read his mind, knowing he was about to get called delusional or crazy or something equally unattractive.

He had known it was coming but seeing the irritation on Bakura's face made something snap inside him. Shifting closer across the bed so that he was now sitting beside Bakura, torso twisted towards him he stared him down, insides flipping with excitement, nerves and just sheer outrage.

It was so _unfair! _Why did it have to be him? As if he hadn't gotten the short end of the stick enough in his life already, now he was in love with the world's sexiest most untouchable bastard.

Malik was close enough now that he could see the pale skin of his chest stretch tight across his muscles and bones with each breath he took, glaring right back at him with pride though he had no idea what was coming for him when Malik threw all precaution out the proverbial window because he was just so sick of waiting for something that simply couldn't seem to happen.

"I _can _prove love exists," He insisted, all the emotions cluttering inside him like a whirlwind in the pit of his stomach, "And that you're not made of chocolate. All I need is one of my five senses." Bakura hesitated, finally backing off the scathing comment he had planned to make, curious as to how exactly Malik planned to do this.

Sing a song?

Seeing him hesitate, Malik took the opportunity with a smirk, saying the name of the sense he planned to use, "Touch."

Then he leaned in and kissed his friend, the infamous thief lord Bakura, full on the mouth. Turning farther he kissed a little deeper, parting his lips to suck on Bakura's lower lip that didn't match the rest of his attitude or physique at all because it was so soft and absolutely luscious.

And Bakura wasn't pulling back.

In fact, he made no response to Malik's forwardness at all, not even when he pulled back after a moment, still not moving except to stare at his friend with dumb shock, lips still slightly parted and damp.

The first thought he had was that Malik obviously was implying that he loved him by kissing him, and he wasn't sure if that made sense or actually proved anything except that Malik was hot for him in some way or another but he did know as soon as Malik pulled back that his kiss felt good and that he wanted more. He didn't care of what he just wanted _more._

_Oh no, my walls are gonna break  
So close, its more than I can take  
So tired of turning and running away  
When love just isn't safe_

"See," Malik said calmly despite the way he was freaking out internally for being such an idiot, "You're clearly not made of chocolate." Bakura's jaw actually dropped a little and Malik felt a laugh bubbling up at the sight.

The words were so utterly insane that they completely fried the last working part of Bakura's much abused brain. How the hell could he be talking about chocolate when he just confessed love? To _Bakura _of all people who didn't even believe in love? How did any of this make _any _sense?

It was like all the wires in his head had short circuited, making his usual snappy awareness fizzle out.

"How the fuck does that prove anything?" He finally demanded, feeling the need to sink his hands in his hair and pull until the pain made his thoughts focus again. His head was screaming a million different answers and he couldn't focus on anything.

Some remote stubbornly functioning part of his upper anatomy informed him he should be grabbing Malik by his neck and throwing him out the door or at least strangling him or kissing him or doing both at the same time.

Malik seemed to sense the insanity behind his expression in those wide reddish brown eyes that swirled with confusion because the weight of what he'd just done suddenly clicked. For Ra sake he'd just confessed love to probably the only person on earth who didn't even believe in it!

He was so completely screwed now. Why were they talking about chocolate anyways? Oh right, he kissed him to prove that he wasn't made of it. Great so on top of implying the hated 'L' word he was also taunting him? Although it was true that he hadn't tasted like chocolate.

Leaning back he stared at his knees, mumbling how it did in fact prove something but he was afraid to raise his voice to an audible level. Bakura's eyes were narrowing rapidly as he got up on his knees and despite his smaller size compared to the other boy he seemed to tower over him, a malignantly powerful aura surrounding him heavily.

"What did you say?" He asked in a deadly tone and Malik looked up nervously, swallowing hard as he fell into that demonic gaze once again. It was almost fury and yet it was simply so beautiful that he couldn't stay away...

Normally seeing him cowed in such a way would be enough for Bakura to declare victory but that wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to hear him repeat what he'd said and he wasn't going to let him off the hook until he did.

Staring in the full face of his anger and absolutely transfixed by it Malik finally answered in a pathetically quiet voice, "You can't be made of chocolate because you taste much better."

Suddenly he was flat on his back, slammed down by a bodily force as Bakura leapt at him in a fit of rage, snarling like some sort of animal. His hand was partially closing off Malik's windpipe and Malik found himself completely pinned by sheer terror as Bakura wrestled him down on the bed, using his smaller body to the best of his ability though it was unnecessary with his pale hand strangling him.

Staring down into his wide lavender eyes he felt a million emotions rise up within him as he hissed, "I should kill you for saying something so fucking cheesy."

Then just as suddenly as he had launched himself at Malik he was kissing him again, only much more roughly than Malik had. He shoved his tongue straight into his mouth without asking for entrance, ignoring the whole romantic build up crap and going straight for a make out.

After a short stunned moment Malik felt Bakura's tongue moving against his and desire bled out of motion, convincing him to start kissing back just as fiercely. Who knew he was such a good kisser? In a flurry of heated desire Malik reached up, sinking his hands into those coarse locks of unruly white hair.

Just as his fingers started to knot there and he thought he might stay like this forever Bakura ripped away cruelly from the kiss, pushing off of Malik with one powerful arm so that only his elbow rested on his chest, leading to the hand still gripping his windpipe powerfully.

Despite his still furious glare his harsh breathing indicated that he really had gotten into the kiss. Okay so maybe this weakness wasn't all that bad.

"Bakura," Malik choked out of his constricted throat, cheeks flushed that cute pink once again, "Do you think you could stop strangling me?"

The request was so strange that Bakura actually had to think about it for a minute before pulling his hand away and pushing farther away from Malik's upper torso, shirt hanging wide open over his chest as Malik's greedy eyes had clearly noticed, tracing the pattern his muscles made under his skin repeatedly.

"Hm, I'll have to take full advantage of this love thing," Malik said impishly, grinning at the fact that while Bakura was still kneeling on his hands and knees over top of him he had in fact stopped strangling him when he requested it.

"I still don't believe in love," Bakura spat, holding his tattered pride together despite his racing heart and desperate desire to start kissing Malik all over again. "You somehow cheat the rules and managed to become an exception," He mumbled, still glaring and still appearing angry but there was a definite softness that ran more than skin deep beneath those words.

Malik recognized that he pretty much had just said that even though he didn't 'believe' in it, he was in fact in love with him. The thought let him dazed and giddy. Bakura was at least sort of in love with him! From the goofy smile on his face and that vacant look in his eyes along with the soft blush glowing behind tan cheeks; it wasn't hard for Bakura to guess what he was feeling.

Smirking slightly under narrowed eyes that hinted at both lust and honest affection he lowered himself down against Malik's body that was still beneath him, straddling his slim hips between his legs seductively.

It would take a lot of obliviousness for Malik to miss _that_ and he certainly didn't, eyes widening in surprise. Slinking down lower so that half his torso pressed against Malik's perfectly sculpted abs he started his ministrations, rolling his hips slightly to make Malik gasp deliciously.

"You like that?" He teased and Malik bit his lip, trying to keep his mouth shut but when he repeated the action he couldn't hold it in.

"Yes," He moaned, and Bakura chuckled at the weakness. This was why despite his smaller size, he could pin someone much larger than him although making Malik moan underneath him was somehow much more attractive than any random bar slut could be.

Plus Malik was _hot_. Bakura's eyes were drawn to the exposed skin of his abdomen and many fantasies exploded inside his minds imagination. He was seriously tempted to bring some of those imaginations to life when a single thought rang through his head.

_[Eww...]_

Damn it, Ryou had probably just heard every dirty thought he'd had in the last thirty seconds.

"Shut up," He mumbled and despite the dizzying lust coursing through both body and mind Malik managed to give him a questioning look. Bakura snorted, sitting up a little more with irritation, shoving his own lust aside as well.

"My pansy hikari doesn't like my fantasies," He explained shortly and Malik looked down at Bakura's legs straddling his hips and slowly dragged his gaze up the bare pale chest tilted above his own and then into the dark smirk on Bakura's face. Realization crossed his face followed by a triumphant grin.

"Oh yah, I knew you were into me," He teased and Bakura glowered again, shoving him back down on the bed firmly with both hands on his chest. He lowered his face to nuzzle Malik's jaw briefly with soft lips before parting to bite wickedly with sharp teeth. Malik flinched back at the sensation and Bakura chuckled darkly again.

"You do realize you don't have to be into someone to want to fuck them right?" He asked in a sultry voice in his ear.

"You wouldn't do that to me," Malik murmured back. Bakura's slow bites and kisses hesitated then he pulled away, looking down at Malik with a strange expression on his face.

"What makes you think I wouldn't?" He asked incredulously. In answer both of Malik's hands shot up, grabbing Bakura's face and yanking him down to kiss him hard on the mouth. Needless to say it caught Bakura by surprise but hardly did anything dissuade him from kissing back with a passion.

If Malik was trying to prove something to him than he had: he was a very good kisser.

Or maybe it wasn't that he was so good but that when Bakura squeezed his legs tighter around his waist and he moaned into his mouth there was something so much hotter about it when he did it then when anyone else did.

Bakura was fully in control of the kiss ironically right up until his hands found Malik's toned stomach again. He gave a small gasp, breaking the kiss and catching Bakura's hands in his. The pale boy looked down at him with desire but that was nothing compared to what happened when Malik raised his hands from his own stomach to Bakura's collar bone.

At first the expression changed to quizzical as though wondering what exactly he was doing but when he started to slide his hands down it began to morph to almost painful pleasure. He repeated the motion and Bakura purred for him, eyes half lidded as he arched into the touch. His expression was both beautiful and sexy at the same time.

"Hey Bakura?" He whispered breathily and the boy caught up in his own pleasure could only nod slowly, skin trembling a little beneath Malik's captivating fingers. The weakness had caught his attention the first time he touched him like that accidentally and he fully planned to exploit it as much as possible now that they were, er, together?

Sort of anyways.

"Do you want to know why you couldn't fuck me and walk away?" This time the other boy still riding him closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again they were sharper, no longer dulled by the lust.

"Why?" He hissed back and Malik smirked as he regained his ferocity. Reaching up he hooked his hand around the back of his neck again, yanking him down effortlessly. He collapsed forward on his chest, hands cushioning his own impact as he looked directly into Malik's suddenly shockingly close lilac eyes.

Leaning in to whisper in his ear without having had to sit up an inch Malik whispered huskily, "I wouldn't let you fuck me in the first place."

Bakura scrambled back, shock and horror written all across his ivory face from his wide dark ruby tinted eyes to his slightly parted lips like Malik had just committed a sin against him. Abruptly his expression grew dangerously angry, nails digging into the skin of Malik's chest through his shirt.

"If you have been fucking with my mind this whole time so help you Malik I will" –

"Oh shut up," He said in an exasperated tone, pulling Bakura right back down to where he started by his long white locks only this time he started kissing him deeply. After a long moment of hesitation and, okay, kissing back a bit, Bakura ripped away again.

Malik had gravity on his side but Bakura had sheer rage induced will power.

"What do you mean you wouldn't let me fuck you?" He demanded, glaring down at the Egyptian beneath him and Malik grinned slyly.

"That really bothers you doesn't it? Well you're the one who was on about getting it done and then walking away. You think I'm that desperate?" Bakura growled, shifting his weight irritably.

"I wasn't serious," He said with a frown and Malik gave him 'a look'.

"Have you _ever _been in a real relationship before?" Bakura just glared back, biting his own lip with sharp teeth.

Obviously there was no good answer to that. He'd slept with plenty of people, he wasn't going to lie and call himself a saint but relationships? Having only ever believed in lust and not love he had never seen the value.

Remembering how those teeth felt against his own skin, Malik winced; reaching up a hand to slide his thumb between his lip and his teeth. Bakura looked surprised, staring doubtfully down at his hand, or what he could see of it anyways, then flicked his tongue out, running the warm, wet appendage across the pad of his thumb curiously.

Malik jerked back a little but Bakura bit down automatically, not hard enough to break skin but enough to make him freeze. Closing those intense ruby tinted eyes he relaxed his jaw, licking him again more searchingly this time before sliding his lips down to the inside of his wrist, flipping his hand with a nudge of his cheek.

He ran his tongue across the surface again and Malik was starting to get used to the slightly rough but almost sweet sensation. It was about as gentle as Bakura got anyways. Opening his eyes again that glare was still present but it was sedated, dulled by another emotion that dominated his face: confusion.

"I don't understand how you make me not care," He mumbled, staring at Malik with a concentrated expression on his face. Malik had no idea what he was talking about but it was obvious whatever it was actually bothered Bakura some extent, a rarity in itself.

"About what?" He asked curiously.

"Not fucking," He said bluntly and Malik couldn't help a small snort. Well it wasn't exactly romantic but for someone who had never done anything _but_ have sex in his 'relationships' before it was actually saying something. At least he was honest.

"You don't care?" He asked and Bakura looked down slowly, eyes travelling from the leather clad hips he was still straddling to his toned stomach, up his lavender shirt and the smooth tan skin of his neck marked in a couple places from Bakura's 'kisses' and then finally his face with those dark tattoos, white-blond hair and entrancing lilac eyes.

"Maybe," He managed muttering, looking down again so he didn't have to meet those eyes. He could still feel him staring anyways. After a couple seconds of feeling the tension build up inside he raised his head with a vicious glare and snapped, "Fine, I don't care, not enough to leave anyways."

Malik grinned at the confession and Bakura glowered back, obviously not happy about it at least. To be honest he was more confused than unhappy though. If love didn't exist then he shouldn't want to be with Malik if it meant no sex, at least not right away.

Malik let out a small breath, relaxing beneath his 'friend' comfortably once more.

"What if I told you my real reason for not wanting to have sex is that I don't want to lose you?" That sharp gaze flashed back up, piercing him and pinning him down to the bed effortlessly, like Bakura had suddenly gained a hundred pounds.

"Lose me?"

"Assuming I have you and this isn't going to end with you walking out and acting like it never happened," Malik muttered only half-jokingly. Bakura gave him a strange look.

"You think I could actually pull off acting like I don't want to jump your bones every time I see you?" He asked, almost innocently puzzled. If he wasn't honestly confused it probably would almost have sounded romantic as well.

"You've done a pretty good job of it so far," Malik joked dryly, hinting at the fact that Bakura had shown no signs up until today of wanting to even talk to him on a regular basis, let alone make out. He doubted he had even thought about it until Malik actually kissed him.

"Because you're blind," Bakura snapped with a glare, obviously taking his 'joke' seriously.

"You mean you actually wanted me before I kissed you?" Malik asked and he was floored when a red tinge highlighted the cheeks of the boy on top of him.

"I like you okay, get over it," He mumbled and Malik felt that dazed feeling of dear-Ra-Bakura-just-told-me-he-liked-me feeling smacked him in the face again.

"Easier said than done knowing I'm possibly the only person alive that you've ever actually liked," Malik replied teasingly despite the cheerful giddiness inside him and Bakura glared at him per usual.

"I told you, that sort of thing doesn't exist for anyone else, you _cheated _somehow," He growled getting right into his Egyptians face. His? Well he was his now since nobody touched what was Bakura's and he'd decided he didn't want other people touching Malik.

Did that mean Bakura was his?

No, thief lord Bakura belonged to no. _No one._ But...if he _had _to belong to someone, it might as well be Malik. Was this love? Fate was such a bitch. Speaking of touching, being so close in the other's face who he had recently decided he 'belonged' to he recalled that not only was touching him fun _being_ touched by him was a million times better than being touched by anyone else.

Malik evidently noticed the sudden change of Bakura's gaze from a glare to a hungry inspection of his own lips because those same lips curved up into a smile, narrowing his eyes up at him.

"Something you want 'Kura?" He suggested smoothly and his new found lover made that strange sound somewhere between a purr and a growl. Malik was pretty sure it was his way of saying 'yes' in his most primitive way because just like that he was kissing him again and Malik didn't even have time to laugh because it seemed like a waste when he could be enjoying having the daylights kissed out of him.

Because with as much practice as he had Bakura was an _amazing_ kisser not to mention with a iron will like his he always made sure he got what he wanted and got it good.

It didn't take long for Bakura to have his hands up Malik's shirt and when Malik's hands started to stroke his sensitive bare chest again he almost exploded with desire, biting at his lips with low moans that Malik hadn't thought he'd ever get to hear from the proud Bakura.

Pulling away from the kiss with another one of his strange almost feline growls despite his ragged breathing he said in a rough voice, "I want you."

"I know," Malik started innocently but Bakura just growled again, hooking his fingers around the belt of his pants and jerked him forward.

"_Right now,_" He moaned in a voice rich with desire as Malik gasped, feeling his arousal pressed against him firmly.

"B-Bakura," He stammered, shocked that he could produce _that_ sort of reaction out of him.

"Please," He actually begged, and it was almost flattering. He had never even heard him use the word please before let alone so sincerely. Heat spread throughout Malik as the image of Bakura on his knees over him, pressed against him so fully as he begged to take him burned itself into his mind.

Like Malik wasn't already turned on enough. But worse was the idea that if he _did_ let Bakura take him that he would be satisfied and not want him anymore. Obviously seeing him hesitate for so excruciatingly long Bakura moaned again, glare spiteful despite the fact that it couldn't overpower the clawing desire inside him.

Dropping his lips to Malik's abdomen he distracted himself by kissing the hot skin above his belt repetitively then slowly dragged his tongue up the valley between his abdominal muscles, trying to calm himself with deep breaths.

He could just take him right now, just do it; Malik probably wouldn't even blame him. And it would feel good, _so_ good to both of them...but it wasn't what _he_ wanted and for some reason the idea of Malik seeing him as weak or even disliking him was even worse than the beast clawing beneath the skin of his lower abdomen.

He collapsed against the boy beneath him, clamping his mouth above the spot where his collar bone and neck began, teeth sinking in. It must have been painful but Malik made no complaint, wrapping his arm around his waist tightly as the entire length of Bakura's body shuddered, fighting wave after wave of urges.

Sometimes he'd lift his head from his shoulder and begin kissing him again until it got too much and he go back to biting gathering his self-control again. It felt like the cycle went on for a long time but it couldn't have been that long.

"We can stop," Malik said at one point but Bakura's eyes immediately snapped open, pulling himself upwards in his embrace furiously. "No we can't," He had hissed, pushing himself straight to his limits. Each time he challenged himself again he felt more triumphant when he defeated the instinct to rip all of Malik's clothes off right now.

After many minutes of this Malik finally pushed him away mid kiss, tensed as he waited for Bakura to get pissed off again. Really he should be used to his partner's strange reactions by now but he was still surprised at the smug smirk on Bakura's face.

"Well that was fun," He said, flashing his very sharp canines when he grinned, picking himself up off the bed into a more graceful position, straightening his clothing slightly. His hair was, if anything, more wild than normal.

"You call that _fun_?" Malik asked disbelievingly as he rolled his shoulder painfully, feeling the place where Bakura had bit him hard several times.

"Well what would you call it?" Bakura demanded, actually sounding a little offended. He had, believe it or not, been enjoying himself. The exhilarating challenge of controlling himself for the first time, well, ever, was so much more thrilling then just getting an easy lay.

"Erotic," Malik responded with a sly smile and staring back still smirking Bakura crouched slightly, making that feline-growl again that meant he agreed completely. He could get used to this. Malik was so much more fun that anyone he had ever been with before.

What he _couldn't_ get used to was the way Malik would suddenly reach out and use his strength to jerk him down beside him again. Surfacing from the lazy one armed embrace, Bakura glared, not appreciating landing sprawled across his chest, no matter how much he might happen to like that chest.

"I am not your fucking teddy bear, stop throwing me around," He grumbled irritably which was considerably nicer then he might have been before all the making out.

"Aw, but you're so fluffy," Malik teased, messing up his coarse white hair and Bakura yanked away, glaring furiously at him.

"I am _not_ fluffy. Just because I made out with you instead of just fucking you doesn't mean you can start calling me stupid stuff."

"You better be planning on doing more than just making out with me," Malik said warningly, watching warily as Bakura slid to the edge of the bed, rising to his feet easily.

Glancing back at him doubtfully he asked gruffly, "What's that supposed to mean?" Malik rolled his eyes.

"Exactly what it sounds like," He said, forcing Bakura to accept the truth whether he liked it or not.

"I'm not going to" –He started to growl but Malik shot him down with an equally fierce glare.

"I'm not just one of your bar sluts," He pouted slightly, folding his arms over his chest.

"Obviously," Bakura mumbled.

"Well you don't act like it's obvious," Malik said pointedly, propping his back up against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of him.

"I don't...what the hell do you think I was just doing?" He spluttered back furiously. Even if it had been 'fun' that didn't mean it was _easy._

Malik flushed slightly when the image of Bakura on his knees begging to take him filled his mind's eye. He probably wouldn't have been able to resist him if he had tried, and Bakura likely knew it. In a lot of ways he had showed him a great deal of respect.

"Okay so maybe you treat me a little different," He admitted and Bakura rolled his eyes.

"You're damn right I do. Now get your lazy ass off my bed," He ordered and Malik made a point of thinking about it before rolling over once then bouncing to his feet. Truth be told Bakura was annoyed but not with Malik, he had performed so well that he actually had him on his knees, something that he had never experienced before.

Maybe it wasn't so much what he had done but who was doing it that had made Bakura want him so badly. The real problem was that despite all that lust, Malik had pushed him away before they could go all the way and the reason that annoyed him was that, well, that it didn't annoy him _more._

He lusted deeply for the Egyptian boy, there was no denying that but if it was just lust being pushed away should have pissed him off not just disappointed him.

"Couldn't be a bar slut anyways, you're way too much fun," He mumbled as Malik straightened his own clothing so that Ryou hopefully wouldn't suspect too much of what they had been doing. Not that he hadn't probably already heard it all from Bakura's mind anyways. He paused, raising a striking white blond eyebrow against his tan skin at Bakura's words.

Was that his idea of a compliment? From the way his pale cheeks flushed bright red and looked away quickly Malik suspected with a flattered grin that it was.

"Fucking love," He cursed under his breath as he accidentally let slip what he considered to be a gracious compliment then glanced over at Malik who was still grinning hugely especially because of the way his blush only deepened along with his childish scowl.

He hated that seeing Malik smile like that over something he said made him feel all fluffy and sappy on the inside.

"It does not fucking exist, so don't go getting a big head damn it!" He denied loudly and stubbornly though it was getting less convincing each time. At least it almost sounded like he was trying to say he was an exception to his precious 'no love' rule, Malik thought dryly.

"So it doesn't exist despite the fact that you're feeling it?" Malik replied doubtfully and Bakura bit his tongue forcefully, expression seething. Saying yes would make him a hypocrite and saying no was stupid because it risked hurting and/or pushing Malik away. Seeing his expression Malik couldn't help taunting him a bit.

"Your logic isn't making so much sense, is it?" He asked with mock exasperation and Bakura's eyes flashed anger. He couldn't stand that superior tone. Grabbing him he pulled the taller boy beside him down a couple inches to kiss him roughly before pulling away again with a fierce glare.

"You are the _only_ exception," He hissed then snatched up the others surprised hand before stomping out the door. Malik stumbled after him as he tried to translate those words in his head. It sounded an awful lot like he had just said something like 'I love you and I literally can never love anyone else'.

Malik felt a goofy smile plaster itself across his face and he was immediately glad that Bakura couldn't see it. Then again, he'd never been so glad to be stuck with someone before.

In front of him despite the fact that he was leading the way Bakura felt like he was swimming in confusion. The worst part was he was confused with _himself _something he had never had to worry about before.

Part of his volatile temper wanted to explode, part of him wanted to kiss the hell out of the boy behind him again and part of him, the scariest part, was really content just holding his hand.

_Oh no, my walls are gonna break  
So close, its more than I can take  
So tired of turning and running away  
When love just isn't safe  
Your not safe  
And that's okay_

Probably hearing his yami's loud irritable footsteps approaching, Ryou appeared in the doorway looking concerned. He looked almost as stunned as Malik was to notice despite Bakura's light scowl and loud footsteps he actually didn't seem to upset _and_ he was holding hands with Malik.

"Um, Bakura, where are you two going?" He asked politely and Bakura didn't even spare a glance back at his hikari.

"Out!" He merely called back, trusting Ryou to hear it as he continued to drag Malik towards the door.

"Where _are_ we going?" Malik finally thought to ask curiously.

Bakura grit his teeth and said testily, "I already said we're going _out._" Malik resisted a small laugh that threatened to escape at the response. He should've known better then to think Bakura had actually planned his sudden impulsive 'outing'.

After all, it was almost like asking him on a date only without the 'no' option. Not that Malik would have said no anyways. Probably his comment about 'not acting like it was obvious' had brought this on. Well, that was fine by him.

Going on a date with Bakura could be nothing but interesting anyways.

...

_But darling,_

_You, are, the only exception_

_You, are, the only exception_

_Oh and I'm on my way to believing._

**A/N: That was so long! Well, I'm going to start working on the angstshipping chapter next, please review to let me know how I did and anything you'd like to see happen in either the next chapter or a second chapter for these two ;) Cheers ~Elle**


	2. Feel the Light

**A/N: Here's chapter two of "The Only Exception" featuring angstshipping (Hikari Malik x Ryou)! Once again a reminder that this chapter is in no way related to the first chapter except for the similar plot line. This chapter is going to be a great deal fluffier then the last one...but that's Ryou for you. Enjoy ;)**

***Note: Centered italicized words are lyrics. **_**[Text] **_**Is Bakura mind speaking and **_**Text **_**is Ryou replying but I'm positive you could have figured that out on your own.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine! Nor is the beginning or end lyrics from "The Only Exception" by Paramour or the middle lyrics from "Feel the Light" by Britt Nicole. Both excellent songs though, I suggest you listen to them!**

The Only Exception Ch 2: Feel the Light

_And up until now_

_I had sworn to myself that I'm content _

_With loneliness_

_Because none of it was ever worth the risk_

...

The noises of the pencil scratching across the paper as he doodled was almost entirely blocked out by the music that flowed from his headphones into his ears, through his eardrums and then to his brain. He tried to let the lyrics take him away but he was only now realizing that over half the songs on his playlist were love songs and the other half were about heartbreak.

How was that for masculine?

Pausing in his doodling he sighed, looking over all the pointless images and words he had scribbled down. It was like a page out of some lovesick teenaged girl's diary. Shuddering at the thought and trying to focus on the lyrics once again he discovered it made no difference because it seemed they were out to mock him to.

_How did you get here,  
You're locked inside of all this fear,  
Inside you're crying out,  
Your mind's a war,  
Get out, get out and live for more,  
There's so much more_

He didn't even want to think about how he 'got here' because it hurt too much. How he 'got here' was exactly why he couldn't move on. Frowning bitterly he glanced at the sheet in front of him then tried to shake it off.

Normally he would and _could_ just shake off these silly longing emotions that were smothered by the fear inside him but lately it just seemed impossible.

A rapid tapping sound interrupted these musings. Pulling out his headphones he turned curiously, wondering what could be making that sound and nearly fell out of his chair in shock when he saw a _boy_ grinning back at him!

Not just any boy either –the boy he had just wasted the last hour daydreaming over. It was like he had read his mind and come over just to torture him.

Despite knowing that this was only going to make him more miserable later, Ryou couldn't help a smile in his friend's direction, heart fluttering in his chest at the sight of the Egyptian perched on his window sill, white-blond hair blowing in the breeze. His cheeks were flushed and Ryou vaguely wondered why.

The brightness of those lavender eyes that craved adrenaline was reason enough to be suspicious though and if _that_ wasn't enough the underlying sound of wailing sirens certainly was. Ryou gave a small frustrated groan, feeling his good mood crash again.

Of course, he hadn't read his mind and come to see him; he was running from the cops –_again. _What had he done this time? Picking himself up out of the chair he crossed to the window, pressing a palm to the window as he craned his neck, standing on tiptoes to see around his Egyptian miscreant of a friend.

Down on the street there were two police cruisers with lights flashing and three officers running up and down the street with befuddled looks on their faces. It was obvious they were looking for someone and with a gasp Ryou realized exactly who.

His hand automatically jerked upward, flipping the latch on the window and stepping back so that Malik could fall tumbling in. Only now he could hear the laughter coming from his friend who was still lying on the floor in what appeared to be stitches from his hysterical laughter.

Either he had official cracked or he actually found the situation funny, which seemed quite likely.

"Malik I can't believe" –Ryou's lecturing words were cut off by an unconcerned wave from his tanned friend on the floor, still chuckling helplessly. Obviously he didn't care about consequences or lectures, Ryou thought with a huff.

"Y...you should have...seen them, Ryou!" He gasped between fits of laughter. "They looked like they were going to have a...aneurism or something when they realized I disappeared! They didn't even think to look at the roofs," He crowed and Ryou frowned down at him though Malik wasn't even looking at him.

It was nice to see him laughing and happy but not if it meant nearly getting incarcerated (need he add the _again?_)!

Stepping over Malik gingerly he closed the window then pulled the curtains shut casually just in case the police did think to look at the roofs before marching over to the bed and throwing himself down on it with a loud huff for good measure.

Folding his arms over his chest he stared at the ceiling stubbornly, determined to pout until Malik noticed him. It was childish and he was used to being ignored by most people, he didn't even mind at this point but he really disliked being ignored by Malik of all people.

That might have to do with his itty-bitty-mighty-disracting-slightly-larger-then-he-built-it-up-to-be crush on the other boy.

"Come on, don't pout Ryou," Malik teased gently from the floor, knowing this routine well. Ryou flicked a glance in his direction and maybe held it a second to long as he checked out the other boy then looked away again quickly, redirecting his gaze to the ceiling.

Despair filled his insides as he felt Malik's stare drilling into him. That one side glance told him he was definitely going to be the one to give in here, per usual. It was always a bad day for being stubborn with his crush when he wore those leather pants.

The mere thought made him fight desperately against the heat in his cheeks. He was just so...so...and those pants made him look so..._hot._ The thought made him uncomfortable but also didn't help in making him less enamoured with the other boy.

Malik stared at his grumpy companion with irritation. The truth was, he had flat out just wanted to see Ryou today but he didn't exactly have a good reason to show up out of nowhere so he took a little...detour along the way.

And almost got himself arrested.

Pretty regular stuff for him which Ryou knew only too well from the way he was pouting. Malik wished he could see his expression had he known he'd gone to all this trouble just to see the adorable whitette.

Sighing to himself Ryou rolled over on his side, looking at Malik miserably again before saying, "You can't keep tempting fate Malik. What if you actually got caught?" The genuine worry in his voice and the delicate frown wrinkling his lily white forehead was enough to fill Malik's head with responses sappy enough that honey would have tasted bitter.

"It was nothing serious," He managed instead in his most carefree voice. "Really Ry, I was just having some fun," He insisted when Ryou didn't get less concerned-looking.

To his delight a light flush flashed across his albino friend's cheeks at the use of his nickname. Even the smallest of blushes was painfully obvious on his nearly translucent skin and Malik used them to judge his moods like a water stick.

"Sure you don't want to know what I was doing?" He continued goading and Ryou's eyes skittered along his physique once more before rolling onto his back again, avoiding looking at all that smooth bronze skin.

Those leather pants hugged his slender hips, clinging to his legs before making way for a couple inches of bare skin and then a short lavender shirt. God he was gorgeous, it was so unfair. Seeing that he clearly had no plans of responding, Malik sighed, dragging himself up off the floor and over to the bed.

Ryou was always telling him not to get in trouble and every time he did he felt a little guilty for upsetting him. Then again Ryou was such a natural worrier that it was hard to _stop_ him from worrying sometimes. Not that he minded.

He found the anxious overprotective attitude that defined Ryou in a lot of ways kind of cute. Having pretty much raised himself and then taking in his former yami who was a troublemaker from day one it had honed his ability to detect opportunities to worry from miles away, and that included Malik.

It was nice to have someone who actually worried about him though he enjoyed the occasions when Ryou would stand up for himself just as much, especially if he got to witness them first hand.

Usually when he _did_ stand up for himself it was against Bakura, his former yami who still maintained the mental link with his hikari and liked to torment him in an almost caring way. At least, as caring as Bakura got anyways.

Generally Ryou was a bit of a pushover though one glance of those puppy dog eyes had other people falling over themselves to help him, but recently he'd been...different. Malik wasn't really sure what caused the change but it just made him like the whitette more.

Though he was still too nice for his own good lately he'd been less shy around Malik, and faster to snap on Bakura when most people would have gotten fed up of the troublesome yami long ago. It made Malik wonder, he was both curious and attracted by this change.

He found himself making up more and more excuses to randomly drop by the house with each passing week, like his endeavour today. It was getting ridiculous, nearly getting arrested just so that he could pop up outside of Ryou's window and make him blush for awhile.

His feelings for the whitette were probably painfully obvious at this point but unfortunately...Ryou was Ryou. These things couldn't just be _easy._ Seeing him coming, and noticing that he was still staring directly down at him, Ryou sat up quickly, shifting over on the bed so that Malik could plunk himself down beside him happily.

Now that they were sitting side by side, shoulders nearly brushing Ryou started to feel his usual jumble of nerves and excitement swirling in the pit of his stomach. The nerves annoyed him, he didn't want to feel nervous every time he saw Malik but it was hard not to.

It only got worse every time the blond popped up unexpectedly. Truthfully he knew he'd had a crush on his friend for what must have been forever by now but it was impossible to ignore the escalation in his own feelings.

He had no idea what brought it on, one day just feeling a delighted buzz internally whenever Malik came over or when their hands brushed...and now this, feeling nervous being near him, heart pounding whenever Malik did something unexpected which, with Malik, was very often.

It was almost painfully good and left him feeling depressed because he knew he'd fallen hard for his friend and he couldn't seem to drag himself back out.

Sometimes he'd even find himself daydreaming about what kissing him would be like, and maybe it was Bakura getting to him but not just a peck on the lips either. He had little experience with French kissing except for drunken people who practically attacked him and then found themselves stuffed in a dumpster thanks to Malik or Bakura whenever they convinced him to come to a party or the bar.

A lot of him thought it would be something worth learning from Malik though.

Again the thought plagued his mind; taunting him and making him blush at the internal images it brought on. They were sitting on the bed side by side right now, he could lean over and just do it, kiss those soft looking lips and then...

He desperately tried to block the 'and then' thoughts. He was never going to actually kiss Malik, anything beyond that was just ludicrous and painful to imagine. It was hard though, because as much as he went through times when he wanted to grab the other and kiss the daylights out of him there were also times when he just wanted to cuddle up in his strong arms that had wrapped around him on one occasion or another and sink into the warmth that was Malik.

To feel those muscles stretching as he pulled Ryou closer, and feel his heart thumping when Ryou put his head on his chest and fell asleep curled in his arms...now that was bliss and entirely too dangerously attractive and tempting to be thinking about.

Every pair of warm and secure arms that had ever held him had left him in the end. His mother, Amane, his own father, several friends...they all left in the end whether it was because they died, because they hated him for some unknown reason or because they found out he was gay and were uncomfortable around him, it didn't matter, the fact was _they all left him._

No matter how much he daydreamed about showing his feelings to the blond on his right who was staring at him curiously as though wondering at the dreamy expression on his face, he wouldn't. Even if Malik did like him, which was unlikely, the inevitable pain that would follow simply wouldn't be worth it.

Tempting himself to do something foolish while sitting on this bed was a particularly bad idea with that in mind.

Shaking himself out of these blissfully painful daydreams he realized that Malik was _still_ staring and probably for good reason. He must look like an idiot sitting there staring into space like the lovesick fool that he was.

"Do you want something to drink?" He offered nervously.

_[He's going to say no.]_ The familiar voice of his yami filled his head and before Ryou could even respond Malik said right on cue, "No thanks."

Bakura's uncanny ability to predict his response made Ryou jumpy and he practically leapt off the bed anyways. Rolling his eyes at Ryou's 'perfect host' attitude, Malik leaned forward and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, jerking him back down beside him.

Ryou gasped out loud as he fell backwards on the bed, feeling Malik's hand move to cushion the back of his head. His eyes were still squeezed shut, afraid the world would start lurching again but when he heard Malik chuckling quietly he opened his milk chocolate eyes to look up meekly.

Quickly picking himself up off the bed he pressed his back to the wall, bringing his knees up in front of him protectively.

"S-sorry," He stammered with a small blush, realizing he'd been doing his 'host' thing again. Malik just smirked at him, eyes glittering with amusement.

"Really Ryou, it's just me, you don't have to treat me like an honoured guest every time I come over," He teased, brushing the thick white bangs from his friend's huge innocent eyes and Ryou sunk down a little, liking that light touch far too much.

_[__Of course he wants you to stay on the bed. He's just waiting to take advantage of you] _Bakura was taunting him again, but this time his words were enough to alarm Ryou.

_Malik would never do that! _He said back though even in his shock he should have known rising to Bakura's bait was a bad idea if not a horrible one. He could hear him snickering now and felt his heart sink as Bakura replied:

_[There's a lot you don't know about him then.]_ He's lying, he's just trying to get me to do something stupid, Ryou told himself firmly. The doubt had been planted though, not that Malik would try and take advantage of him, that was stupid because a large portion of Ryou _wanted_ to be taken advantage of.

But Bakura's other words...

_What do I not know about him?_ He asked suspiciously and he could see Bakura's cat like grin in his head, gloating over the internal struggle he was presenting Ryou with.

_[Why don't you ask him?]_

Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it...Ryou must have repeated the mantra twenty times when finally the cruel laughter inside his head coming from his yami made him crack. That or his own internal suffering at the paranoid fears that kept surfacing from Bakura's taunting words.

"Have you ever hooked up with my yami?" He blurted out loud, turning to face Malik desperately. The voice in his head (how's that for crazy?) fell silent long enough for him to focus on first the shock then horror crossing Malik's face.

"W-what?" He stammered, jaw dropping a little. Partially because he'd never even heard Ryou talk about 'hooking up' before and partially because the thought of Ryou, the one he actually liked, asking him if he'd do that sort of thing with his yami was just plain insanity.

"Hell no, why would you think I was even attracted to _Bakura?_" He demanded shaking his head firmly and seeing the crazy looks he was now getting from his friend at the seemingly random comment Ryou groaned, dropping his head to his hands, banging his forehead forcefully against his knees.

_I'm going to kill you if I don't die of embarrassment first,_ Ryou sulked in his mind as Bakura howled with laughter. Torturing his hikari was fun and ever since he discovered his crush on Malik he'd had plenty of ammo.

_[It's not my fault you're so gullible and paranoid. I never said I slept with him, I'm not even interested in your lover.]_

_He's not my lover!_ Ryou responded irritably, mostly because he wished he could say that he was. _I don't even know if he's gay..._He added bitterly and he could practically feel Bakura rolling his eyes from wherever he was, probably his room down the hall.

A cold probe jabbed through his brain and Ryou flinched at the sensation, fighting against it because he knew exactly where Bakura was going with this but God, why did it have to hurt so much? He was glad he had his head down because Malik would surely notice the look of intense pain twisting his face if he didn't notice the rigidity in his shoulders right now.

_[I wouldn't have to make it hurt so fucking much if you'd stop fighting!]_ Bakura snarled in his mind and despite the harshness of his yami, Ryou knew he didn't actually want to hurt him so he tried his best to relax though he knew what was coming would hurt a lot more.

The memory flashed through his brain like a slap in the face, so clear and defined in his mind's eye like he was there watching it happen all over again.

**Flashback**

_Ryou struggled to keep to his feet, bodies twisting and moving all around him. It felt sort of like he was on a ship that kept swaying all around him only this ship had music that was way too loud and flashing lights that were way to bright._

_He wasn't a big partier but several of his friends were here and when Bakura decided to go Malik showed up at his door and dragged him half way down the street before he agreed to walk the rest of the way off his own accord. _

_For anyone else he could have begged out for some reason or another but no reason seemed good enough to blow off Malik. He had imagined how romantic it could be...except that he hadn't even been able to find Malik after they were separated at the very beginning. _

_He didn't want to be clingy but it seemed like everyone he talked to was smashed and several people had already tried to molest him. It was embarrassing, especially when he was mistaken for a girl or hit on by guys who obviously didn't care what gender he was. _

_If Bakura had been there he probably would have been able to scare them away but he'd only caught glimpses of his yami all evening and he seemed to be having a fine time partying, he wasn't going to go begging to him. _

_Malik was a friend though and he'd probably get a kick out of seeing random people hit on him so finding him seemed to be the best course of action. A flash of tan skin and creamy-blond hair flashed across his vision and he had to clap a hand to his mouth to stop the girlish gasp of disbelief that threatened to explode from his shocked vocal chords. _

_His –mouth –was –on –some –other –guys! _

_Not only that but whoever the unknown stranger was he also had his hands tangled in Malik's gorgeous mane of hair that Ryou had only dreamed about sinking his hands into. The only redeeming factor of the situation was that Malik's eyes weren't closed, he didn't seem shocked but he wasn't really into the kiss like the other guy was. _

_Oh God, now the guy was practically pressing himself against him, and parting his lips and...It was painful to watch but Ryou was so shocked he couldn't make himself turn away, choking on his own breath. _

_He was just waiting to pass out and forget this ever happened but now Malik was pushing the other guy away, forcing him to break the kiss. The guy was grinning, wiping the back of his hand against his lips –did that mean there had been tongue involved? _

_Jealousy and pain ripped through his insides nearly making him cry out again but just then Malik started to turn away from his mystery guy and Ryou had to spin around and look casual. Even if he did see his stand-out white hair disappearing into the mass of people, why should he care?_

_He didn't even know Ryou had feelings for him..._

**Present**

Did that prove Malik was gay? Obviously Bakura thought it did or he wouldn't have forced Ryou to remember it so vividly. It stung like someone had just ripped duct tape off his bare skin, fresh and painful.

The whole thing couldn't have taken more than thirty seconds and he could feel Malik's worried gaze on him now. He'd been hunched over; hiding his face for too long now, especially after his strange question and Malik could probably sense something was off.

After all he wasn't stupid. Far from it, he knew Ryou better than just about anyone other than his yami and sensed said former dark spirit had something to do with this strange attitude and prolonged silence.

_That doesn't prove anything..._Ryou mumbled weakly to his darker half. It was pathetic and pointless; Bakura didn't even bother responding because it did prove something.

It proved a lot of something's.

It proved that he was miserable and in love with Malik and that the whole situation sucked as far as Ryou was concerned.

A strong warm hand folded around his shoulder and his head shot up, sitting up straight as he panicked and then realized it was Malik leaning over him with concern rooted deeply in those beautiful eyes.

On Malik's part he found himself leaning a little farther then he needed to as he fell into the depths of those milk chocolate eyes, dark with worry. Soft pink lips puckered slightly with whatever emotions Ryou was feeling and he felt the desperate urge to kiss away all his worries –but considering the way Ryou blushed cutely when he got just this close he figured that was probably a bad idea.

If anything it would _add_ to his worries that his friend tried to molest him.

Shaking off the feeling Malik asked instead, "Why would you think I'd hook up with Bakura?" Ryou groaned, trying to hide his face again but Malik's hand was there in a flash, cupping his chin and forcing him to look up.

His cheeks turned bright red at the touch, almost like Malik was going to pull him in for a kiss and he shook his head fiercely against the thought despite Malik's restraining grip.

"I-I...Bakura..." He stammered helplessly, unable to think straight when Malik was looking down at him so intensely. Finally he raised a hand and just tapped his temple, indicating what he meant.

"Oh..." Malik said, figuring out what he meant and finally released him. Ryou gave a small sigh of relief, feeling all his muscles relaxed. Whatever that moment between them had been, Malik staring at him and him staring back...it was exhilarating, he could hardly breath and had he been standing his knees probably would have turned to jelly.

Blissfully painful, even outside his imagination.

"He's been messing with my head again," Ryou managed in one coherent sentence, rubbing his temples now though Bakura had backed off and his voice no longer echoed internally.

"Want me to go kick the crap out of him for you?" Malik offered and it was so cheesy and almost romantic despite the fact that he was clearly just trying to cheer Ryou up that he actually let out a small giggle then clapped his hands to his mouth. The amused smile on Malik's face said he'd heard anyways and Ryou started laughing again despite his embarrassment.

_[Bring it on.]_ There was that voice again though, ruining the almost sweet moment...

"Get out of our conversation," Ryou grumbled aloud. Malik laughed and Ryou realized as he palmed his face that he'd answered out loud. It was a bad habit he'd never been able to fully break. The simple motion of humiliation that Ryou was simply too good at had Malik laughing again, fully enjoying Ryou's sweetness.

All those blushes, stammers, overanxious reactions...he loved all of it on his adorable Ryou. Sometimes he was cute, sometimes he was just plain gorgeous under the Egyptian's adoring gaze. Everything he did had him falling harder for him every second.

He never thought he'd be all for such a delicate person but it just made him want to hold him and never let him go.

Gah, all these sappy thoughts and he hadn't even told Ryou how crazy he was about him!

Normally he would have made his crush known long ago but that was the problem with Ryou...he was pretty much terrified of relationships. It wasn't the physical that he was scared of, though he had been pretty shaken when no less than three different girls and one guy tried to make out with him at the last party they went to.

He was just too damned cute for his own good. How were you supposed to keep your hands off of him?

Feeling his own fingers twitch in response to these thoughts Malik forced himself to behave and not attack his innocent friend out of virtually nowhere. Ryou was naturally a worrier, if he ever found out about Malik's feelings for him he'd probably have a heart attack and then avoid him for the rest of his life, scared to do anything that might lead him on.

He'd been through a lot of hardships in his life even if his mild nature gave nothing away for the most part...the second you brought up relationships though he shied away completely. Nice as he was even friendship was hard for him to handle.

_Life has come and left you blinded,  
Stole you smile and left you crying,  
It's not your fault, shame is all you've got now_

Noting that his crush was starting to look awkward once again, Malik realized he probably should stop staring and keep the conversation alive for Ryou's sake at least.

"So what were you doing before you valiantly rescued me from the cops?" He asked only half-jokingly.

"Oh just...listening to music," Ryou said then immediately bit his tongue, feeling guilt contort his face. He had been _attempting_ to listen to music but mostly he'd been pouring out the hopeless feelings in his heart through daydreams and doodles.

He hadn't lied but a half-truth was really just a half-lie. Malik narrowed his eyes, knowing there was something he was hiding. Ryou wasn't a liar but he didn't exactly gush about his feeling either...jumping up off the bed with a bounce, he started out across the small room casually.

Ryou knew he should be standing up and distracting him, stopping him, doing _something_ but right now he was routed to the spot, unable to do anything but stare with fascination. Every step Malik took made his slender hips move and his tight leather pants stretched with them giving Ryou a magnificent view of his rear end.

Okay he was definitely going to get up in about two seconds...if he could stop himself from drooling first.

"What were you listening to?" Malik's voice made him jump and when he glanced over his shoulder he smirked slightly as Ryou averted his gaze, widening his eyes quickly as he tried to look innocent. Had he just been checking him out?

Catching his eye with a sly smile he raised an eyebrow at him and Ryou put on his Bambi eyes that he always used when he'd done something 'wrong'.

Oh yah, he'd definitely been checking him out.

Well that was fine by Malik; he wasn't cruel enough to call him out on it either way. The fact that he had was enough to put a spring in his step and a smile on his face.

"U-um I wasn't really paying attention, just...stuff," He stammered in response, snapping out of his haze when he saw Malik reach the desk, picking up the headphones. Just as he leaned down to grab them he noticed something out of place on the perfectly prim and proper desk. A single sheet of paper covered in light pencil scribbles.

He looked closer, curiosity brimming but before he could figure out what was written on the paper Ryou was suddenly there blocking his view. He wriggled desperately between Malik and the desk, so close they were practically pressed together but as embarrassing as that was it was better then what would happen if Malik were to see what was actually on that paper.

Malik froze, feeling Ryou grab his wrists tightly, snow white fingers straining to wrap around Malik's larger darker hands.

"I-it's nothing," Ryou stammered then could have smacked himself. Nope that wasn't obvious at all. "I mean...um..." What was he supposed to say? Don't look at the paper that I poured all my mushy senseless feelings out onto?

Malik got himself unfrozen, trying to crane around Ryou's smaller body but he shifted sideways, blocking him again and when Malik pushed closer Ryou pressed himself right back against the desk, so that Malik literally had him pinned.

It was thrilling, amazing...terrifying. A million emotions zipped through him at the strange situation. His small hesitation gave Malik the opportunity to get a glimpse at the corner of the paper that Ryou was all but sitting on to hide from him.

He only managed to catch one word before Ryou was covering it againbut that one word was plenty enough to triple his curiosity.

_Love._

What had Ryou written about love? Was he in love with someone? Was it him? It had better be him. The thought of it _not_ being him sent waves of jealousy through his entire body. Okay now he really, really had to see that paper.

Taking a step back Ryou looked uncertain for a minute as though wondering if he was really going to retreat. Then he saw Malik's mischievous grin and felt his heart sink knowing the curious Egyptian wouldn't give in that easily.

A jerk came as Malik dragged him forward by his hands that were still gripping the others wrists tightly. He let out a small cry as he found himself staggering forward a half step but he managed to dig in his heels, pure terror fuelling him.

Terror didn't make up for muscle though and not only was Malik bigger but he was also stronger than him. Falling to his last resort Ryou squeezed his eyes shut piteously and began straight out begging pathetically.

"Please don't look, please don't look, please don't look," He repeated and he sounded so helpless that Malik made himself pause. As much as he wanted to know...Ryou cracked his eyes open a bit, seeing the pout on Malik's face that said he was going to give in. Score!

He let out a sigh of relief as Malik dropped his hands to waist height though Ryou's fingers still wrapped around them loosely.

"I don't know why I can't see it," He grumbled childishly and Ryou nearly giggled from the draining tension but managed to restrain it this time as he collapsed back against the desk again.

"Its way too embarrassing," He confessed, trying to mollify his friend a little but Malik's face just lit up with more curiosity.

"Hm, embarrassing...do tell," He teased with a wink and sly smile that never failed to make Ryou flush, blinking wide eyes bashfully. Unable to trust his voice he shook his head quickly, peering up through his long lashes shyly.

He was utterly adorable and Malik found himself wrapping his own fingers around Ryou's smaller hands so it was almost like they were holding hands.

"Please?" He murmured in his most convincing voice as he leaned closer. Ryou caught his breath, unable to move or speak or...do anything. He was being way to obvious but it was so hard not to be when Malik leaned in like that almost as if he might...

_[Well you certainly have him wrapped around your little finger don't you?]_ Bakura said dryly in his mind and the sound snapped the spell rather abruptly. Letting out a frustrated sound Ryou suddenly released Malik's hands, raising them to his head and pulling on his own hair.

"I am going to bloody kill you if you don't get out of my head!" He raged uncharacteristically and Malik blinked, stunned at the outburst. It was so un-Ryou that it was almost comical, especially because the whitette seemed to be talking to...himself.

"No, no, no! Out, now! Do you even know what privacy is?" He growled then sighed, closing his eyes as he focused hard. There, silence, at last. It probably wouldn't last because blocking out his yami for even a short amount of time was physically taxing but it was worth it.

That could have been his and Malik's first kiss! Seeing the confusion on Malik's face he realized he must seem deranged.

"Anytime you feel like knocking him out, feel free," He mumbled and Malik frowned slightly then realized who 'him' was.

"You mean Bakura?" Ryou looked surprised then horrified.

"Ohmygod, please tell me you didn't think I was yelling at you," He pleaded weakly and from the way Malik started snickering he figured that was _yes._ He really needed to work on this 'not talking out loud' thing.

He could actually cry right about now if he didn't have some small dregs of his masculine pride remaining despite living with Bakura for over a year. First Malik almost seemed like he was going to kiss him, then Bakura interrupts, then he yells at him and now this!

The mere thought of Malik liking him was scary enough on its own, what if he got his heart broken? He really didn't need to be going crazy because of Bakura's ever present taunting voice at the same time. Seeing the expression of horror crumple to one of despair, Malik worried that Ryou had been pushed a little too far by all the stress he went through on a daily basis.

"Ryou calm down," Malik said as reassuringly as he could though the words seemed to have no effect. At this rate Ryou was going to die from a heart attack before he turned twenty. Frowning slightly he raised a hand and touched his cheek lightly.

That got Ryou's attention and his gaze snapped up, looking a cross of miserable and surprised.

"Relax, I'm not mad, I knew you weren't yelling at me I just wasn't sure who you _were_ yelling at," He explained and Ryou let out a shuddering sigh of relief. Wow, why was the room spinning like that?

"It was still rude of me," He mumbled, closing weary eyes and Malik felt his heart jolt when Ryou actually leaned his soft cheek into his hand. Why was he so sleepy all of a sudden? Hm...something about Bakura...he couldn't quite remember.

"Ryou?" Malik said worriedly, as Ryou suddenly looked like he was about to fall asleep on his feet. He was leaning back against the desk and starting to slump forward, breath becoming even. Malik just managed to raise his hand in time, propping up his shoulder to keep him from collapsing on top of him.

"Um...I'm really tired..." He mumbled, trying to open his eyes but they were _so_ heavy.

"O...kay..." Malik said hesitantly, taking a slow step forward as Ryou tried to keep himself up, not even blushing when Malik slipped a hand around his waist, holding his head up carefully.

"Mind telling me why?" He asked carefully and Ryou shook his sleepy head, frowning slightly in weak concentration.

"He's gonna be pissed," He managed and just as Malik opened his mouth to ask the door flew open, slamming into the wall hard enough to make both of the current occupants jump. Ryou's eyes were open now, bright and confused, the fog of sleepiness lifting from his brain.

"You, off of him," Bakura growled from where he stood looking extremely pissed off as he narrowed his eyes at Malik who backed away from Ryou nervously, hands lifted in front of him to show his cooperation.

"You," He continued, turning to Ryou now, "Stop trying to block me out before you hurt yourself." His voice was blunt and to the point and now it clicked for Malik. Ryou telling Bakura to get out of his head and then getting tired out of virtually no where...it must be part of their mental link.

The thought made him a little jealous and he tried to brush it off, especially because he was very aware of Bakura's glaring gaze still on him.

"I-It was none of your business," Ryou stammered boldly, blushing watermelon pink but at least he was trying to hold his own as he moved to plant himself in front of Malik stubbornly.

"It's my business if someone's trying to rape my hikari who's too pathetic to stand up for himself," Bakura sneered and by 'someone' the nod in Malik's direction clearly indicated that he was the 'rapist' in this case.

Wait, Bakura though he was trying to _rape Ryou?_ Sure he'd been tempted to kiss him but he wouldn't have if Ryou didn't want him to and he definitely wasn't going to rape him!

"Former," Ryou said firmly. "_Former_ hikari, and I'm standing up to you right now, aren't I?" Malik had to give him points for bravery in the face of a very volatile Bakura. After all, he'd backed off under that glare and Ryou wasn't known for being tough.

It was obvious that Bakura's strategy was to intimidate Ryou and Malik could see that the meeker of the two was actually shaking a little so it must be working but he didn't back down. Despite his harsh words and the glaring contest the two were having right now, Malik wondered if this was Bakura's way of being protective.

After all it wasn't all that long ago that Malik had showed up at the house when Ryou wasn't around and asked Bakura whether or not Ryou was gay. It took about three seconds after that for Bakura to put two and two together.

He had already threatened to castrate him if he so much as made Ryou uncomfortable, possibly the nicest thing he'd ever said in his life and from the way he was glaring at him now, Malik got the feeling he was keeping tabs on their conversation so that he could make good on his promise should the need arise.

Seeing the way Bakura's glare kept shifting towards Malik, Ryou felt himself bristle.

"Out, now," He ordered abruptly, gesturing to the door pointedly. Bakura raised an eyebrow, glancing at Malik again then at Ryou with a mischievous smirk.

"Jealous are we? A little overprotective don't you think? I already told you I wasn't interested." Ryou flushed angrily and glared at him, wondering what he'd done to deserve this torture.

"Just get out before I kick you out of the house for good," He snapped and Bakura rolled his eyes as if to say: _Like you could._

"Just remember what I said," He growled threateningly to Malik then stalked out the door with pride before Ryou could completely close it in his face. Malik winced, knowing that Bakura wasn't joking about the castration.

The only thing that stopped the cold but protective yami from killing anyone who gave his hikari so much as a dirty look on a regular basis was Ryou himself. Shutting the door firmly Ryou couldn't help being upset at Bakura's words.

What did he mean 'remember what he'd said'? Obviously he was talking to Malik but why would he even have been talking to Malik? He hated the idea of them talking behind his back; he knew Bakura had said he wasn't interested in him but what if Malik was interested in Bakura?

He had been showing up at the house a suspicious amount lately...

Frustrated, Ryou folded his arms and kicked the door childishly. All that resulted in was a sore foot and a large wince on his part. Malik let out a small laugh and Ryou grumbled quietly under his breath, sticking out his lower lip in an impressive pout.

"Why is Bakura so worried about you being alone with another boy anyways?" Malik asked casually and Ryou looked slightly alarmed.

"He's not worried about me," He corrected quickly, "He's incapable of caring about anyone other than himself." Malik laughed even though it was obvious Ryou was avoiding the question.

Ryou could practically hear the ominous rumble of irritation coming from his yami and suspected he was going to be extremely annoyed with him later but it didn't matter because right now Malik was clearly suspicious.

Crossing the room he plunked himself back down on the bed, twisting his fingers together tightly to try and cool his nerves. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out...just don't do anything suspicious...the bed bounced and dipped slightly as a second heavier weight dropped down beside him just a little too close for comfort.

How the heck was he supposed to relax now?

"Alright Ryou, just tell me what's going on," Malik demanded, fed up of being left in the dark. "What's with all the secrets around this place?" If he was honest he was jealous of the silent conversations he and Bakura held, and now that it was obvious they were making reference to _him_ he wanted to know more than ever.

Ryou shook his head desperately in a clear 'no way', shifting away from him quickly. Catching the motion with narrowed eyes, Malik pressed even closer.

"Please?" He begged and Ryou folded his knees to his forehead, bringing them full circle to where they'd started out as he shook his head, hiding his face again. Darting one hand out he pinched Ryou's side gently and the whitette gasped aloud, head shooting up again with eyes wide.

Grinning mischievously, Malik continued to wiggle his fingers against his deathly ticklish friend's side cruelly. Ryou started laughing helplessly spluttering out half formed pleas for Malik to stop which only encouraged him to continue, sliding his hand under his shirt slightly to tickle his bare side.

And _oh _his skin was so silky and soft!

He could have gone on touching it all day while Ryou buried his face back in his arms to muffle his laughter. A couple more pinches should be enough to make him crack...out of seemingly nowhere Ryou finally blurted, "I'm gay!"

Malik stopped his torture so that Ryou could get his breath back, peeking up at Malik nervously. His face had gone blank and he said almost curiously, "So?"

"Well I figured it would probably bother you..." Ryou said shyly, straightening up a little and Malik just rolled his eyes, moving out of his personal space a little to Ryou's disappointment. Still it was better than running out of the room screaming.

He should know better than to get close to Malik...but it was just so hard when that was all he really wanted.

"Don't tell me Bakura's never even hinted that I'm gay, there's no way he'd keep that quiet," Malik scoffed and Ryou smiled just a little, nerves receding a bit to Malik's relief. He'd rather be pressed up against Ryou's side again with his hands under his shirt but if it made him uncomfortable, well, he was gay but he liked his balls attached to his body.

"He did but I, um, didn't believe him," Ryou admitted quietly, wondering if Bakura had been honestly trying to hint in his own way that Malik really was gay earlier. He doubted his other would ever admit to it but it was a nice thought.

Grinning slightly, Malik gave him a small side glance and Ryou recognized that expression too well not to be apprehensive. When the blond Egyptian started to crouch he felt all the blood drain from his face. Oh please don't be going there...

"Malik...don't..." He said weakly, raising a hand half heartedly to dissuade him but it had less then no effect, if anything only encouraging the other boy who launched himself gleefully at Ryou like a pouncing tiger.

He felt about as heavy as one when Ryou hit the bed flat on his bed with a yelp of surprise despite himself as he found himself completely pinned. Stunned, he realized Malik was actually lying flat out on top of him, feet waving in the air behind his back as he cupped his face in his hands, elbows propped on the bed like a teenage girl at a sleepover.

"Does it bother _you_ that I _am_ gay?" He asked playfully as he grinned down at Ryou who, considering their position, was blushing much like the teenage girl he had just compared Malik to, lily pale face the color of roses.

"N-No," He stammered a little too quickly.

"Then why are you acting like it bothers you?" Malik murmured, leaning dangerously closer. Ryou felt his heartbeat escalate and was sure steam was pouring out his ears. When did it get so _hot_ in here?

"I...I..." He dragged his eyes away from Malik's full lips just long enough to squeeze his eyes shut and blurt, "I'm afraid of falling in love! I don't want to get hurt again."

Malik recoiled immediately, getting up onto his hands and knees over Ryou with an almost disgusted look on his face. Ryou felt his heart sink to his toes and shrivel into a charcoaled lump. He might as well have screamed that he was falling in love with him. Sure Malik had obviously been flirting but –

"You think _I_ would hurt you?" Malik demanded in an almost shaky voice and Ryou blinked wide brown eyes with surprise. Realizing he had legitimately hurt Malik's feelings he said quickly, "It's not like you...or anyone else...would do it on purpose it just happens way to often in...that sort of situation."

There, not too many hesitations, it didn't _totally_ sound like a love confession this time.

Malik shut his eyes for a moment, channelling his inner patience. He already knew this, he _knew_ Ryou was afraid of relationships, afraid of getting close to anyone at all, but it didn't make it sting less. Of course it likely wasn't personal, he knew that to, he hadn't even out and out said he liked him...yet.

He'd been pretty damn obvious though.

Sighing dramatically he got completely off of his friend carefully, shooting him a small smile so that Ryou hopefully wouldn't worry too much about having hurt his feelings. If he was very, _very_ careful with his words and actions now he could probably salvage their friendship at the very least.

Stretching out a hand, Ryou took it meekly, allowing himself to be pulled up. There was confusion written all over his face and he was very hesitant to release Malik's hand. It felt so warm and strong and...wonderful.

He wasn't supposed to want to fall in love, he was supposed to _avoid_ getting his heart smashed brutally _again_ but all he really wanted was...Malik. Forever and ever. The thought was so cheesy and romantic he felt dazed with his self realization.

Only when something rapped him right on the forehead did he snap out of his daze, blinking rapidly. Malik was tapping him with...something. Reaching up he automatically caught whatever it was in his hands, holding it still as he stared cross eyed at a rectangular package.

Malik chuckled at how cute he looked, offering a benign smile when Ryou looked his way in confusion.

"This is what I was running from the cops for. It's for you," He said as innocently as he could as first dislike puckered Ryou's face then curiosity and finally sweet eagerness, tugging the package out of his hands to bring it down to a level where he could actually see it.

At least he had accepted the gift happily enough despite the fact that it was likely stolen. Partially because he loved gifts, partially because he loved the way Malik said 'for you' in that soft caring voice.

Watching as he carefully flipped it over in his hands Malik said quickly, "It reminded me of you." Ryou read the package and couldn't help being surprised.

"How do I remind you of white milk chocolate?" He questioned innocently, still staring at the chocolate bar in his hands. When Malik didn't respond he looked up, curiosity nearly overflowing and he was in for a shock.

Malik was staring at the bed, fingers tracing patterns in the sheets sheepishly, white-blond bangs falling in his eyes and...was that a hint of pink in his tan cheeks? It had always been Ryou's job to do an overwhelming amount of blushing, mostly because of his pale skin that gave him away every time but Malik was _definitely_ blushing now.

Ryou couldn't even remember the last time he'd seen his crush flush with anything other than adrenaline.

"Well...you're white...and sweet..." Malik mumbled quietly, peeking at him in an almost shy manner, the pink becoming more prominent across his cheeks. Ryou felt happiness swoop inside him until it felt like his heart was literally bubbling over and he was positive he was beaming like an idiot.

Malik thought he was sweet?

Heart thumping in his chest he wondered if that was Malik's way of confessing that he liked him. It certainly _sounded_ like it. Unwrapping the chocolate bar slowly he broke off a piece carefully.

"Want some?" He offered his crush shyly and Malik raised his eyes from the chocolate to Ryou's truly sweet face almost dazedly, staring into those puppy dog eyes and feeling his insides melt like some romantic sap.

Which is turned out he was. Not that it mattered right now, so long as Bakura never found out.

"Yes," He whispered back, cupping Ryou's oh-so-soft round cheek that flushed beautifully under his tan hand. His other hand took Ryou's waist, spreading his fingers sensually across the fabric of his thin shirt and jeans, feeling the heat of his skin beneath his clothing.

Leaning in towards him, it was hard for Ryou to miss where he was going with this as he looked at his lips suggestively, and his eyes widened hugely.

"M-Malik," He stammered, distancing himself a little but Malik wasn't taking no for an answer this time. He _knew_ Ryou liked him; it was just this irrational fear that Malik would somehow break his heart...like he could possibly muster the willpower to do that...

_Your heart's tangled up in silence,  
It's time to let go,  
Feel the light,  
I know it's easier to hide,  
But you gotta let go,  
Feel the light,  
Let go and feel the light._

"I'm not going to hurt you," He whispered soothingly and every hair rose on the back of Ryou's neck as his hot breath washed over him, so close he could feel it gently ruffling his soft white locks.

His dazzling lavender eyes were still focused on him and Ryou found his gaze drawn to those soft looking lips once again as Malik slowly propelled him downward, lowering him towards the sheets.

Ryou's eyes fluttered open and shut, long lashes nearly brushing Malik's face as his breath hitched. His back touched the bed, parting his knees automatically so that Malik could lie between them gently.

"Please don't," He murmured in a breathless, weak voice but found himself leaning into Malik's hand still resting on his cheek, hands so warm and secure as they held him. He dimmed his eyes and tilted his chin upward off his own accord when Malik began inching closer, heart hammering just as hard as Ryou's.

His eyes shut just as their lips touched for the first time and Ryou moaned quietly at the pure butterfly's sensation. It was stunning, and wonderful, everything he thought it would be and more because no amount of daydreaming could amount to the completion he felt when Malik's tender lips parted against his, dipping his tongue into his mouth and coaxed his own out.

Every motion was controlled and soft but Ryou liked it, liked being utterly helpless to Malik's control as he lay beneath him, kissing back just as slowly and romantically. He knew he should be pulling away, how many times had he told himself not to get involved with anyone?

There was a three to one chance of heartbreak at this age, something he couldn't stand to have anymore of in his life...but he just didn't care. The wonderful new sensation of such a soul baring kiss obliterated his willpower and desire for anything other than to just keep on kissing, maybe forever.

If any hesitance remained it was banished when Malik moved his hand from his waist, taking his hand and forcing him to drop the chocolate as he pulled it to his chest, pressing Ryou's palm to the spot where he could best feel the thumping of his heart.

_Brave, brave the water's all around you,  
I'll stay, I'll keep you from sinking down_

He broke this kiss gently, retracting his tongue from Ryou's mouth with tiny loving motions that the smaller clung to, giving a small sigh when Malik's lips left his entirely. Nuzzling his cheek against Ryou's much softer almost childishly round one he whispered in his ear, "I'm not going anywhere."

Ryou was left completely breathless, head spinning dazedly. Malik's lips began parting romantically against his neck, leaving no marks as he kissed from his jaw to his collarbone in straightforward simple motions.

Ryou could still feel his heartbeat beneath his hand, a steady amazing feeling that resonated within him like his own heart was responding to the emotions Malik was freely pouring into him.

"I think I'm in love," He murmured in a dazed tone, wide eyes staring upwards as he tried to catch his balance. He'd been falling, falling, desperately trying to stop himself and now...he reached the bottom which was feather soft and wonderful, a paradise he didn't think he could ever get sick of being in even if he tried.

Malik hesitated in his ministrations, pulling back slightly.

"With me?" He asked slowly and Ryou nodded, lips still slightly parted though no sound managed to come out. "You better be," Malik chuckled quietly with a small smirk and Ryou's pink full lips curved up into a sweet smile at least, eyes shining in silent delight.

"Malik," He said his name quietly and the other boy looked down at him with soft adoration. "Kiss me again?"

"I'd love to," Malik teased gently then closed the distance between them for the second time in another quietly passionate kiss that he controlled masterfully.

Like thunder on a perfect parade the romantic mood came crashing to an end when the door was flung open for a second time. Bakura stood in the doorway with a black expression on his face, feet planted determinedly.

Malik broke away from the kiss with a jolt, sitting up quickly to look at the angry looking yami who lived up to his title of 'dark' with his malicious red eyes and wildly pointed snow white hair that almost made him look demonic when he smirked cruelly like that.

"I should have known," He said in a lazy drawl, leaning back against the doorframe to hide the tenseness of every muscle in his body.

"When his thoughts," He jerked his chin in Ryou's direction who's eyes were only now open and dark with confusion since he couldn't even see his yami from his position, "Turned to senseless mush that I'd find you two making out in here."

Malik winced and Ryou turned pink again, hitching his knees higher around his 'friend's' waist and grabbing him by the front of his shirt to lift himself up. Malik was surprised and caught him around the waist.

Ryou immediately snuggled closer to Malik's kneeling form, locking onto him with both hands and knees. He twisted his neck just enough so that his cheek was pressed to his chest and he could glare at Bakura as threateningly as he could –which with Ryou was to say about as scary as an angry kitten.

The motion clearly said: _Mine._ Bakura chuckled slightly, still smirking but in an amused almost-friendly way this time.

"I already told you Ryou, I'm not interested in him," He said flippantly then shrugged away from the wall, walking away smugly as ever, not bothering to shut the door this time. Ryou sighed, muscles turning to jelly as the tension drained out of him, burying his face in Malik's chest.

He could feel the vibrations of the other boy's laughter as he caressed his back with soothing lithe fingers.

"Scared?" He teased and Ryou looked up at him with Bambi eyes.

"Noo..." He drew out innocently, tracing a pattern across his chest with distracting fingers. Then Malik's hands were on his with a wicked grin, pulling them away and throwing Ryou's body from the torso up onto the bed.

He hit with a gasp, stunned at the motion as he found the room spinning again, his white locks splayed around his head like a fluffy pillow.

Malik crawled back on top of him, stopping him from sitting back up as he grabbed both his hands in one of his, pinning them above his head firmly before leaning in to kiss him again, capturing his lips with an insistent pressure that pushed all the air from Ryou's lungs, following by Malik's tongue that took pleasure in dominating Ryou's mouth a little more roughly this time.

After just a short moment though he pulled away, not releasing Ryou's hands and he leaned in to whisper in his ear, "What do you think about going out for awhile this afternoon? The cops have probably given up on me by now..."

"Okay," Ryou squeaked immediately in a slightly high pitched voice, and Malik chuckled.

Finally getting off of Ryou entirely he jumped off the bed with an energetic bounce before offering both hands to Ryou who took them gratefully but just as Malik started to pull he released his hands, falling back on the bed with another 'oomph'.

"Ry" –

"Don't crush the chocolate!" Ryou said quickly, gathering the free square and bar it came from in his hands protectively and holding them to his chest. Malik blinked once in surprise then laughed again. It was just so Ryou to treasure the gift, even something so simple as chocolate like it was worth a million dollars.

"Come on, you can put it in the kitchen, I'll tell Bakura not to eat it," He assured him and Ryou smiled cheerfully with that sunny disposition as he offered Malik one hand this time and allowed him to pull him to his feet.

Immediately he linked his fingers through Malik's in a tight hand hold before setting off for the kitchen and dragging his partner behind him. Malik could just laugh and follow his enthusiastic whitette down the hallway.

In the small kitchenette Bakura was making himself a sandwich, a decidedly strange and altogether too normal sight for Ryou's intimidating other. He paused to glare at them when they entered the kitchen and Ryou stuck his tongue out in an equally childish but fond greeting before opening the cupboard and putting his chocolate inside carefully except for the one square he'd already broken off.

Malik opened his mouth to warn Bakura off as his gaze followed the shiny tinfoil carefully with that kleptomaniac gleam in his eyes but to his surprise, Ryou beat him there.

"Don't touch, it's mine," He said sharply like a jealous kindergartener and Bakura rolled his eyes, lifting his sandwich in his other hand.

"I'm good, thanks. If this is how you're going to act all the time now I might have to break you guys up," He said dryly, before taking a viscous bite out of his food and chomping down.

The Bambi eyes that nearly filled Ryou's face seemed to shine with unshed tears of heartbreak at the mere suggestion, lower lip trembling. Bakura gagged, nearly choking on his food before swallowing and glaring at his hikari uncertainly.

"It was a joke damn it," He said harshly but there was definite good intention behind the words. The smile returned to Ryou's beaming face and Malik barely contained the snicker as he realized how slyly Ryou had manipulated his yami.

"Ra, I don't know how you deal with his mood swings," Bakura grumbled to Malik offhandedly, stomping past the sickeningly cute couple irritably. Ryou lifted his free hand, looking at the single square of white chocolate in his palm, then Bakura's retreating back, then the chocolate again, sticking out his lower lip in a concentrated pout then finally calling out when it was nearly too late.

"Bakura!" He shouted in a soft tone and Bakura hesitated down the hall by his bedroom door, looking back at him.

"What?" He snapped bluntly.

"Catch!" Ryou called back, tossing the square to him. His hand automatically raised lightening fast to catch the flying gift, looking at it curiously for a moment before giving a small snort.

"I hate chocolate," He said, then pointedly popped it in his mouth before walking into his room and slamming the door behind him.

"I don't know how you put up with him," Malik commented irritably, wrapping his arms around Ryou's waist from behind. It sent tingles from his waist up and down his body very pleasantly. All these new sensations would definitely take some getting used to, but he was enjoying all the surprises so far.

"You learn to like him," Was all Ryou said with a small contented sigh. He felt Malik stiffen behind him and he let out a small giggle that, though slightly feminine, was also adoring of his partner at the same time.

"Jealous?" He teased slyly, twisting in his arms to look up at Malik, snuggling back against his chest at the same time.

"Not anymore," He responded innocently with a charming smile that made Ryou laugh again.

"Scared?" He questioned in return, pressing closer so their foreheads nearly touched and they had nowhere to look but into each other's eyes.

"Not anymore," Ryou responded sheepishly and Malik flashed him a wide smile before kissing him shortly.

"Good," He whispered in his ear simply, conveying his feelings with that one word. After a small hesitation he added almost shyly, "I don't want you to ever worry about me hurting you. Relationships might end that way for some people...but no ours, okay?"

Ryou nodded, pressing his face into Malik's neck so he was completely turned around in his warm secure arms now. Funny, he thought once he got in this position he'd be too worried about losing to enjoy it but that wasn't the case at all.

"I'm not worried. Other people...they let me down and now I have to live knowing how easy it is for people to do that to me. But you I know I don't have to worry about because as far as 'always going to let me down' goes I've realized that...you're the only exception."

They both flushed at the sappy yet necessary words. Malik kissed him helplessly, unable to find the words to say he agreed. Despite the fact that it was a short and simple kiss, when he pulled back it left them both breathless.

"Well now that that's settled...how about that date?"

...

_But darling,_

_You, are, the only exception_

_You, are, the only exception._

**A/N: Wow when I started this I was worried it was going to be ridiculously short in comparison to the first chapter...but it ended up being just as long! I loved their first kiss; I have no idea if it came out right when I wrote it or like a jumble of fluffy nothingness but I'd like to know so...write me up a review! Even if you hated it, you can tell me what you hated and I might be able to it improve it. **

***I'm seriously considering writing another two chapters to show the development of the two (unrelated) relationships...would anyone out there like that? Let me know!**


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